Should I apply now or just retake?

Peaceofmind

My January score is 15x,Canceled scores for all my prior attempts. LSAC GPA 3.5x. International student but have a bachelor’s and master’(GPA3.73) from the US.
My husband works in NY so I really hope to get in Fordham this year. But based on my stats I’m afraid I don’t have much chance. Should I just apply for Fordham now and some other target (Cardozo) and safeties (Brooklyn,Touro ) to get a sense of how admission officers view me, and retake in March ?
Or should I just retake and not apply to anywhere?
My hubby suggests me apply to WUSTL to get a sense, too. Is there any point for me to do that? I’m obviously below their bottoms .
A bit about my LSAT situation: I have been studying since June 2017. English is not my first language and I burned a lot of PTs untimed. Prior to January LSAT my PT scores in December were: 164,168,171, (but they’re very old PTs) then my husband had to relocate so I spent a lot of time packing/cleaning/ watching my 2 yr old during holidays. And when I resumed to prep again in January my PT score dropped : 159, then 164 the week before test (these are recent PTs btw), but the week before test my son got very sick so I had to take care of him full time with very limited time studying, and I got sick on the test day. So I definitely think I can do better, but I also burned out all the new PTs and most of the old PTs, too.
Please give me some advice on what to do next! Thank you!

FixedDice

My January score is 159, 77percentile. Canceled scores for all my prior attempts. LSAC GPA 3.5x. [...]
My husband works in NY so I really hope to get in Fordham this year. [...] Should I just apply for Fordham now and some other target (Cardozo) and safeties (Brooklyn,Touro ) to get a sense of how admission officers view me, and retake in March ?
Or should I just retake and not apply to anywhere?
My hubby suggests me apply to WUSTL to get a sense, too. Is there any point for me to do that? I’m obviously below their bottoms .

I strongly advise you to not apply and retake. If you apply now, you (1) may have unfavorable chances because it's quite late already and you have a relatively low LSAT score; and (2) will be seen as a reapplicant should you apply at a later cycle, meaning you will have lower chances of admission.

My suggestion is to take a good break while preparing your materials, take the LSAT when you are really ready, and apply as early as possible at another cycle. You scored a 159, so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to score, say, 164 with preparation.

Peaceofmind

@FixedDice
Thank you for your advice! What you pointed out was very important. I'm thinking about applying to one or two schools that I have around 50% chance to get in but have no interest in attending now or in the future, just to get a sense of my candidacy and get familiar with the process. Good idea?

Was also wondering if you have any advice on studying for the retake? My worst section is RC then LR. I read too slowly and I found when the stimulus starts with "Economist", I freaked out and had trouble to think it clearly under time constraint:-/

I started out with LSAT trainer then used Manhattan prep trilogy to get more foundation. Read Powerscore LR bible and used 7sage to refine my logic game strategy. I continued to use Manhhatan forum for LR and RC to review PT and sometimes also 7sage for RC review.
My goal is 165+ and I REALLY hope to get in Fordham.

Any advice would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

FixedDice

I'm thinking about applying to one or two schools that I have around 50% chance to get in but have no interest in attending now or in the future, just to get a sense of my candidacy and get familiar with the process.

I would have been nonchalant with this approach, were it not for the fact that I did something like this and suffered the consequences. I applied to my alma mater's law school during an earlier cycle because... I felt like it. The law school was and is a safety, and to this date I don't particularly care for that institution. But I regretted my earlier decision like crazy when none of the schools I reapplied to this cycle responded to me for months -- had I not applied to my alma mater's law school earlier, I would have had at least one more safety school to resort to. Granted, this is a slow cycle, and I eventually got admitted to at least one law school. But don't take any school for granted. You don't want to be another FixedDice.

Also, it's quite late already. Those schools may not be as attracted to you as they would have been if you applied earlier, so that 50% figure may not be an accurate representation of your actual chance(s) (unless you used 7Sage's Predictor and gauged your chances at February, in which case this point is moot).

Was also wondering if you have any advice on studying for the retake? My worst section is RC then LR. I read too slowly and I found when the stimulus starts with "Economist", I freaked out and had trouble to think it clearly under time constraint:-/

Practice reading. People recommend reading articles; I think reading nonfiction books (science, history, law, economy, etc) is good as well.

I started out with LSAT trainer then used Manhattan prep trilogy to get more foundation. Read Powerscore LR bible and used 7sage to refine my logic game strategy.

Choose and stick to one curriculum. Looking at more than one source may confuse you, and is an unwise use of time because they ultimately all point in the same direction.

Peaceofmind

@FixedDice >

Yes I used 7Sage’s admission predictor and put in February. Thank you for sharing your own story. I will definitely keep that in mind!

Thanks for your advice to practice reading articles/books. Is there a particular book(s) you would recommend for history/law /economics?

I totally agree the point to stick to one curriculum ! I started LR bible in a hope that after studying that book, my LR score will go up. Although I thought the book was very well written and I thought my understanding for the test improved after finishing that book, my score stayed the same. And it took me two months to thoroughly go through that book. At least I didn’t waste more time reading LG and RC bibles as I originally planned haha. Seems like sticking to PTs and reviewing are still the most important things...

FixedDice

Any book written by notable researchers (e.g. professors) would do, I would think.